Many types of tools have a movable element which is pivotally mounted to another element and biased by a spring. One such tool is the so-called "locking plier". A locking plier functions in a manner similar to regular pliers except that a locking plier is adapted to be fixed in any desired position. In the normal locking plier construction, a handle is provided with a stationary jaw and a movable jaw. The movable jaw is pivotally mounted to the handle and biased away from the stationary jaw by a spring which is connected between the movable jaw and the handle. In order to provide sufficient support for the movable element, it is desirable to extend the handle so that it closely encloses a large portion of the movable jaw. Since there is very little clearance between the movable jaw sides and the surrounding portions of the handle, any method of connecting the spring to the movable jaw cannot extend outwardly of the sides of the jaw. The solution to this problem has been to stamp a portion of the movable jaw to form a narrow tab, to pierce a hole in the tab, and then to thread a coil of the spring through the hole. While this form of connection provides a suitable solution to the problem, it does involve three steps which make up a tangible part of the cost of manufacturing. The two operations of stamping and piercing involve a high-risk hand operation and expensive machine time, while the threading of the spring wire through the hole involves a separate and expensive hand operation. These and other difficulties experienced by the prior art devices have been obviated in a novel manner by the present invention.
It is, therefore, an outstanding object of the invention to provide a tool in which the number and complexity of manufacturing steps is reduced and thereby the manufacturing costs.
Another object of this invention is the provision of a tool whose manufacture involves fewer dangerous or complex human operations.
With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the invention resides in the combination of parts set forth in the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto.